Friday, December 28, 2012

Think Medical Syringes Should Once Be Used Once?

Dirty medical needles put tens of thousands at risk in USA

When seven people arrived at a Delaware hospital in March with drug-resistant MRSA infections, the similarities were alarming.
All of the patients had the same strain of MRSA, all had the
infections in joints, and all had gotten injections in those joints at
the same orthopedic clinic in a three-day span. State health officials
found that the clinic had injected multiple patients with medication
from a vial that was meant to be used only once, spreading the MRSA
bacteria to a new patient with each shot.
A month later, three patients in Arizona were hospitalized with MRSA
infections, also following shots at a pain clinic. Again, state and
county health officials tied the cases to the injection of multiple
patients from a single-dose vial. A fourth shot recipient died;
investigators noted that MRSA "could not be ruled out" as a cause.
In July, more than 8,000 patients of an oral surgeon in Colorado were
advised to get tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and
hepatitis after state health investigators found that his office reused
syringes to inject medication through patients' IV lines. Six patients
have tested positive for one of the diseases.
As drug-resistant superbugs and increasingly virulent viruses menace
the medical community, health officials still face a quiet threat that
was supposed to die with the advent of the disposable syringe more than
50 years ago: dirty needles.
Since 2001, more than 150,000 patients nationwide have been victims
of unsafe injection practices, and two-thirds of those risky shots were
administered in just the past four years, according to data from the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The errors led to at
least 49 disease outbreaks, a USA TODAY examination shows, and a trail
of victims suffering with potentially life-threatening bacterial
infections, such as MRSA, and sometimes fatal viruses, such as
hepatitis.

My opinion:Frankly, I don't think this should be an issue today. When doctors use a needle or syringe on one patient, they should throw it away and use another one for another patient. Simple as that. I am a bit confused, though, about using a "single-dose vial." Perhaps the vials had been contaminated if the needles or syringes were put in it after they were used to inject the patient with medication. In my chemistry classes, the instructors emphasize the risks of contamination. But the worst that could have happened in those cases was a faulty experiment. In these cases, peoples' lives are at risk. Are medical schools not emphasizing these issues enough, or are there other reasons that these mistakes occur? I know that sometimes, doctors who work long shifts are very tired and cannot function. Feel free to add your thoughts.